Lifewriting: Write for Your Life!

In this episode, Tananarive talks to visionary thinker, organizer and artist adrienne maree brown (author of EMERGENT STRATEGY, GRIEVERS and LOVING CORRECTIONS) about the role of the artist during times of chaos -- creating beauty from pain and uncertainty, the obligation of artists to express joy, and how art can be a bridge to better times. LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The WGA writers' strike is over, but A.I. is still a big conversation among writers. From the WGA strike and screenwriters' concerns about A.I. infiltrating writers' rooms to the recent class action lawsuit including former podcast guest Paul Tremblay against OpenAI and ChatGPT, A.I. and writers are on a collision course. Steve and Tananarive talk about the good and bad uses of A.I. for writers and how to prepare for the future. Also: an invitation to join our social media platform on Circle! www.lifewrite.com LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Steve and Tananarive talk to director Josh Ruben about his new horror comedy (romance) Heart Eyes, which is destined to be a cult Valentine's Day horror hit! They talk about directing, how to make a horror romance, and why Ruben cast Black leads in Heart Eyes (Mason Gooding, opposite Olivia Holt) and Werewolves Within (Sam Richardson, opposite Milana Vayntrub). Also: how he coped after he and his wife lost their new house during the recent fires in Southern California - only weeks before the Heart Eyes premiere. LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this new episode, Steve and Tananarive talk about the need for feedback to grow as writers and how difficult it is to determine which feedback is useful and which feedback isn't useful - and the tools it takes to tell the difference! They also talk about their new video on why writing Science Fiction / Afrofuturism can be empowering in 2025 - check it out at https://www.steven-barnes.com/live-classes.LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode - their first one recorded in 2025! - Steve and Tananarive talk about how Octavia E. Butler and Ray Bradbury confronted their times with art to help inspire themselves and others. (Includes a clip from a 2000 interview with Octavia Butler). They also talk about their upcoming hybrid class on Writing Science Fiction/Afrofuturism (1/25) and how artists can turn fear into power through storytelling! (Learn more about the class at www.writerwebinar.com) LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tananarive spent more than seven years working on her new novel, THE REFORMATORY, which was inspired by true-life family history about her great-uncle Robert Stephens and the Dozer School for Boys in Marianna, FL. In this podcast, she and Steve talk about why it took so long to write, the Lifewriting tools she used to complete it, and how she's fighting to stay centered in the whirlwind of her book's publication. LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Tananarive interviews horror author/screenwriter Clay McLeod Chapman about his upcoming novel, WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES -- which was blurbed by Jordan Peele and is about a deadly political spell cast over the nation. (Sounds familiar!) He and Tananarive also talk about his start as an author, how he first met Jordan Peele, and the search for hope in writing and reading horror. LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tananarive and Steve were devastated by the death of Candyman star Tony Todd in November of 2024. (He also co-starred in their "Fugue State" story in the Shudder/AMC+ anthology film Horror Noire.) His death inspired them to unearth an interview they did with Todd as a part of their online digital download course The Sunken Place, a history of Black Horror. In this rare interview, Todd talks about his tough childhood, the aunt who raised him, his theater roots...and becoming Candyman. Don't miss it! The full course (which also includes an interview with Jordan Peele) can be found at www.sunkenplaceclass.com. LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Tananarive and Steve talk to New York Times horror columnist and author Gabino Iglesias! In 2023, Iglesias, who is Puerto Rican, became the first Latino writer to win a Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel for THE DEVIL TAKES YOU HOME. (His more recent book, HOUSE OF BONE AND RAIN, is also great!) Steve and Tananarive talk to Gabino about how his struggles with unemployment and losing his health insurance during COVID inspired him to finish his award-winning novel, why he loves horror, and what he's doing next! LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Tananarive talks to author, poet and scholar Nadine Pinede about her difficult journey bringing her debut novel to life, WHEN THE MAPOU SINGS - a novel about a young girl's experiences in historical Haiti, including encounters with Zora Neale Hurston. And the novel is entirely in verse! National Book Award winner Edwidge Danticat calls the book "a stunning revelation." They talk about managing a writing practice through pain and how the novel transformed over the years. The author requests donations to the Claudette Pinede Memorial Scholarship Fund to support Haitian women in STEM: https://helpdonors.donorsupport.co/page/FUNNJGKWUCZLEAVE US A VOICEMAIL at https://www.speakpipe.com/LifewritingPodcast (We might play your message!)Join Tananarive's mailing list at https://tananarivelist.comJoin Steve's mailing list at https://stevenbarneslist.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices